New head coach talks about his vision for Oxford football program

04/21/2015 12:30PM
● By Steven Hoffman

On April 14, the night that Mike Means
confidently strode to the podium at Oxford Area High School and
introduced himself to the Oxford community, there were 142 days until
the first game of the 2015 football season.

Means mentioned the season opener
against Solanco several times during his 60-minute presentation, but
his focus wasn’t on what happens during four quarters of a Friday
night game that is still more than four months away. His focus,
instead, is on right now. What can he, as the coach, be doing right
now to create the right culture for the players? What should the
players be doing right now to prepare themselves for training camp in
August and the games in September and October?

“Winning is the culmination of
reaching a lot of other goals,” Means said. “Wins and losses are
at the end of the process.”

The coach explained that his priority
will always be to help the players become good young men who
contribute to the community and are of the highest character.

“If guys are learning the lessons
that will set them up for success, if guys are playing the right way,
then the wins will come,” Means said. “It’s faith, family,
school, and Oxford football. At Oxford, we’re going to do it the
right way. We’re going to win the right way. This town is ready for
an era of consistent success. I came here to build a program that
will have consistent success.”

Means comes to Oxford from Bohemia
Manor High School, where he served as an offensive coordinator for
the last seven seasons. Bohemia Manor won the conference championship
twice in a four-year period, and is an example of a football program
that is consistently competitive—that’s precisely the kind of
program that Means is looking to bring to Oxford.

“I’ve known this community for a
long time,” Means said. “It’s definitely my kind of
community—it’s a blue collar community, and it’s ready for a
winner.”

Means sees many similarities between
Oxford and the Lancaster County town where he grew up and played
football and basketball at Cocalico High School. He was a quarterback
on a team that went 9-1, 9-1, and 7-3 in his last three seasons.
After high school, he opted to study at Shippensburg University and
played basketball at the collegiate level. He couldn’t wait to get
back into football when he started coaching. Now, he’s excited to
be fully involved in his first head-coaching opportunity.

Means was professional and prepared at
his introduction to the Oxford community. A PowerPoint presentation
spelled out exactly what he expects of his players as the new staff
goes about the business of rebuilding the Oxford football program.
According to Means, hard work and discipline should be the foundation
that everything is built on.

Means’ presentation even included a
Hornet-related motivational acronym, STING, that summarizes how the
team should approach its job: Sacrifice, Toughness, Iron, Now, and
Guts. The “sacrifice” requires each player to put the needs of
the team first. The “toughness” refers to the physical and mental
preparation necessary to succeed. The “iron” refers to the
off-season workouts that will result in wins in September and
October. The “now” refers to what the players are doing right now
to get better. The “guts” refers to the quality that football
players need to have inside them so that they can win in the fourth
quarter when the game is on the line.

Means talked about how he wants the
players to become a band of brothers in the weight room. Some of the
football players are already weeks into a new training program,
working out in the weight room from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through
Thursday, while the current eighth-graders are coming in from 4:15 to
4:50 p.m. each of those days to learn how to lift.

Josh Schneider, who serves as Oxford’s
strength and conditioning coach, said he has been impressed by the
early results players like Josh Freese, Wes Ogino, Conner Hilaman,
Mykhial Brown, and Michael Williams, who have taken Means’ plans to
heart.

“We’re just getting a lot stronger.
Everybody is buying in,” said Schneider, who will also assist with
coaching the wide receivers and outside linebackers. Schneider added
that many of Oxford’s players are already repping the weight that
they maxed out at during the last season.

While Oxford is losing the
contributions of several solid senior players, as well as Ryan
Hubley, one of the all-time greats in the history of the program,
there are some talented players coming back.

Means said that he will be bringing the
triple-option offense to Oxford, and talented quarterback Danny
Green, who set several school records for passing in 2014, will be a
good leader for the new offense.

“The quarterback is the maestro of
this offense,” Means said. “I think any kind of skill position
players can fit into this offense. We need linemen who are athletic
and can move.”

The players will start learning the new
system and doing some work with their position coaches in May,
followed by a more robust lifting program—what Means calls the
Fourth Quarter Program—from June through August.

Some of the players will most likely
take part in a seven-on-seven tournament in June.

“I’m not interested in whether we
win that tournament,” Means explained. “That’s just about
getting reps and getting the new passing game installed.”

In early August, the players can take
part in a Salisbury Team Camp, which will be the most focused
team-building experience of the off-season. Players will participate
in six full practices while at this camp, and will receive
college-level instruction. There’s a short break after this camp
before the pre-season practices get underway.

The new coach emphasized that the
off-season work is vital to what will happen on the football field in
the fall.

“We need everybody in the program to
buy in to this,” Means said.

That includes the parents of the
players and, indeed, the entire Oxford community. As part of the
effort to make the players contributors to their community, Means
wants the football team to be more visible and active in the Oxford
area.

Means said that he has assembled a
coaching staff that shares his vision for Oxford’s football
program.

“I found some fantastic coaches,”
Means said. “The staff that I put together is very young, hungry,
and determined to put together a winner. We’re going to make [young
men] better players.”

Means’ enthusiasm shined through
during his presentation, which he concluded with the mantra, “Our
team, our town, our time.”

Bob Liberato, the president of the
Oxford Football Boosters, was part of the search committee that
brought the new coach to Oxford.

“He presented himself really well,”
Liberato said. “We wanted a guy who could build a program. You
could tell that he put a lot of thought into his plan. He brings a
lot of energy. He has a lot of enthusiasm. People want to follow
him.”

Oxford officials are excited about what
Means’ arrival could mean for the future of the football program.

“We believe that Coach Means will
bring a very competitive and disciplined student-athlete to the
playing field and the classroom,” said Oxford athletic director
Michael Price. “We are very excited for the future of the program.”

High school principal Christopher
Dormer said that during the interview process Means was the candidate
whose views most closely aligned with what Price is trying to do with
the athletic program, what Dormer himself is trying to do at the high
school, and what superintendent David Woods wants to establish
throughout the school district. They all want to establish a positive
culture with a strong sense of community where young men and women
can become more productive contributors to their communities.

“Tonight,” Dormer said, “marks
the next chapter in a great legacy of Oxford football.”

Means said that he already feels like
he’s becoming a part of the Oxford community.

“I loved my time at Bohemia Manor,
but I am thrilled to be here,” he said. “I am thrilled about
being involved with Pennsylvania football again. This community has
welcomed me with open arms. My family and I feel blessed to have this
opportunity.”